Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Qutb, Sayyid sīˈyĭd kŭˈtəb [key], 1906–66, Egyptian Islamist whose critique of modern civilization and Islam provides the theoretical underpinnings for many contemporary Islamic militants. Edu...

(Encyclopedia) Manley, Mary de la Rivière, 1663–1724, English author, one of the first women to earn a living by writing. Notorious because of her marriage to her cousin, who was already married and who later des...

(Encyclopedia) Oyster Bay, uninc. area (1990 pop. 6,687) of the Town of Oyster Bay, Nassau co., SE N.Y., on N Long Island, on Long Island Sound; settled 1653. It is chiefly residential. Nearby is Theodore Roosevelt'...

(Encyclopedia) communistic settlements, communities practicing common ownership of goods. Communistic settlements were known in ancient and medieval times, but the flowering of such groups occurred in the 19th cent....

(Encyclopedia) Lindbergh, Charles Augustus, 1902–74, American aviator who made the first solo, nonstop transatlantic flight, b. Detroit; son of Charles A. Lindbergh (1859–1924). He left the Univ. of Wisconsin (1...

(Encyclopedia) Adams, town (2020 pop. 5,335), Berkshire co., NW Mass., in the Berkshires, on the Hoosic River; inc. 1778. Its manufactures include chemicals, textiles, and paper products. The Berkshire r...

(Encyclopedia) prehistory, period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some reco...

(Encyclopedia) Williams, William, 1731–1811, political leader in the American Revolution, signer of the Declaration of Independence, b. Lebanon, Conn. He served in the French and Indian War and held many public of...

(Encyclopedia) Shakers, popular name for members of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, also called the Millennial Church. Members of the movement, who received their name from the tremblin...

(Encyclopedia) vendetta vĕndĕtˈə [key] [Ital.,=vengeance], feud between members of two kinship groups to avenge a wrong done to a relative. Although the term originated in Corsica, the custom has also been pract...